MALA CX Operating Manual
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MALA CX Operating Manual

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MALÅ CX System
Operating Manual v. 2.3 EM
19-001024

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Summary of Contents for MALA CX

  • Page 1 MALÅ CX System Operating Manual v. 2.3 EM 19-001024...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Creating a 3D Project Migration settings and Images for 3D Projects Object-Mapper Project EM Option Resulting signals/images Sensitivity GPS Functionality File Manager Transferring data System settings Upgrade Batteries and Power supply High Frequency antennas Technical Specifications CX unit Technical specifications HF Antennas www.malags.com...

  • Page 3: Introduction

    1 Introduction __________________________________________________ Thank you for purchasing the MALÅ CX, the main unit for operating the MALÅ High Frequency antennas, both with and without EM option. CX10 gives you a High Brightness type of screen, while CX11 is equipped with a Trans-reflective screen for best performance in bright daylight.

  • Page 4: Unpacking And Inspection

    1.3 MALÅ Geoscience Indemnity Clause Operators of MALÅ CX or other MALÅ GPR systems shall hold harmless, defend, and indemnify MALÅ Geoscience from and against any and all losses, liabilities, damages, injuries, claims, demands, costs and expenses or claims including claims by third parties arising out of the use or possession of the MALÅ...

  • Page 5: Cx Start Up

    The CX to the antenna, using the antenna cable. The antenna cable should always be connected before the CX unit is powered on. The CX to the battery or other power source, using the battery cable. See Chapter 11. The encoder wheel to the antenna.
  • Page 6 The following screen is shown at start-up of the CX and the work flow of the 3 different project types are also shown below: Main menu...
  • Page 7 As seen three different measurement modes are available for the CX system; 2D, 3D and Object-Mapper Projects. All these project types are explained in detail in the following chapters. However, for all of these three options, general measurements settings are...
  • Page 8 In this menu the options for changing Antenna, Material Type, Depth Window, Zero Depth, Acquisition mode (Wheel / Time) and Point Interval are found. If the Filters options in turned ON (done in the System Settings, see Chapter 9) it also shows up here. The trace and radargram view (right side of the screen) shows directly how the signal looks like.
  • Page 9 GPR investigation is carried out in. The CX system lists a number of different types of material and is a guide for the operator when estimating the depth to targets visible in the radargram.
  • Page 10 After selection of material type or by choosing User-defined the option Velocity Wizard can also be entered to obtain correct velocity for the media. The requirement to use the Velocity Wizard (both for the migration and hyperbola fitting function) is that a point object needs to be visible in the radargram.
  • Page 11 After using the QUIT option in the program and the power has been turned off by the software, the user need to power off the CX unit by pressing the ON/OFF switch on the unit itself. To turn the unit on again, wait for 5-10 seconds before pressing the ON/OFF switch.

  • Page 12: Project

    3 2D Project __________________________________________________ 2D Projects are defined as measurement in single profiles as seen below: Re-bars Concrete bottom This type of project can for instance be used to the investigate layer thicknesses, as concrete floors, asphalt thicknesses on roads, ice thickness etc.
  • Page 13 GPS. As each profile is completed, press STOP to finish the project. The data can be moved from the CX to a PC for further interpretation work (see the Section Transferring data). Files can be continued by pressing NewP (New Profile).

  • Page 14: Project

    3D Projects are effective is the mapping of re- bars and joists in concrete. The 3D Project option in the CX will guide you through all steps involved in the data collection to the final processed 2.5D view of the investigated area.

  • Page 15: Creating A 3D Project

    0.80 x 0.8 m and 0.10 cm line spacing as the size of the standard MALÅ Geoscience grid-mat. Note! The Grid size should be evenly divisible by the Line spacing. This is applied automatically by the CX system. In other words, if you change the www.malags.com...
  • Page 16 1) Press the black button, wait for a beep, and release the black button. 2) Start to measure, by moving the antenna along the line on the carpet. 3) Continue the measurement until a beep is heard again. The CX automatically ends the line. www.malags.com...
  • Page 17 4) Press the red button (to change measurement line), and wait for a beep. 5) Place the antenna in the start position of the next line and start from step 1 again. If black button is pressed after a profile is collected, the software assumes that the operator want to re-measure the current profile.
  • Page 18 For explanation of the three function buttons: see next section in this manual. The options Angle, Aperture and Threshold are filter settings for the Top View and stands for: Angle – The space between the single lines of data is being filled with the help of an interpolation scheme.

  • Page 19: Migration Settings And Images For 3D Projects

    Full-screen Saved screenshot The measured projects and created images can of course also be uploaded to a computer (see the section on Transferring Data). 4.2 Migration settings and Images for 3D Projects When the 3D project is ready, there are a number of different options available on the screen, in addition to the filter settings explained above.
  • Page 20 By pressing the button, it is possible to change the Velocity settings (Migration) or to create Image Slices. Note! Make sure that a well- defined hyperbola is visible in the right hand screen before entering the Velocity Settings (Migration window). Migration is a processing scheme which can significantly sharpen the radar image, especially when seen in the top view.

  • Page 21: Object-Mapper Project

    Linear structure CX Profiles Once an Object-Mapper Project is created within the MALÅ CX, it can be directly opened in Object Mapper, a Windows based interpretation software for quick mapping of underground features. For further information, see the Object Mapper Operating Manual.
  • Page 22 Give the distance between the profiles, decide direction and line spacing. The direction right and left is defined as shown below: 1st 2nd Profiles are made on the left-hand Profiles are made on the right-hand side of the 1 profile side of the 1 profile Note! In an Object-Mapper project the measurement lines are measured...

  • Page 23: Em Option

    The MALÅ High Frequency antennas are also available with an EM option. These antennas are equipped with 50/60Hz electromagnetic (EM) sensors, to provide the CX with a combination of the radar and EM technologies to better locate and identify energized power cables, rebar, post-tension cables plus metallic and non-metallic conduits in concrete slabs either suspended or on grade.

  • Page 24: Resulting Signals/Images

    The EM option is of course also active when measuring 3D Projects. The results of the EM measurements can be displayed as a Top view, on the 3D Project 2,5D View screen when selecting the option EM Data. The EM-option is mainly designed for detection of the leakage from AC power lines.

  • Page 25: Sensitivity

    be different. For other cable geometries there may be only one peak over the cable. When the cable is twisted the EM signal can vary very rapidly over short distances, making precise location of the cable more difficult. In the 3D Project view the average signal at each point of measurement is plotted along each survey line and then interpolated over the surface.

  • Page 26: Gps Functionality

    7 GPS Functionality __________________________________________________ The CX system is available with a positioning system, GPS, which can be used with 2D and Object Mapper measurements. To activate this functionality an activation code is needed (contact your local sales representative for more information). The GPS is connected to the CX main unit via the USB port.
  • Page 27 The GPS system functioning with the CX system is: GM-158-USB (from San Jose Navigation Inc.). The USB port is found top left on the CX Main unit, under the cap Note! The GPS should not be connected to the main unit before the CX system is powered and running.

  • Page 28: File Manager

    8 File Manager __________________________________________________ As a profile measurement is started (2D Project) the data is automatically saved and named as in the following files: 2D_0001.rd3 - data (traces) 2D _0001.rad - header (measurement info) 2D_0001.cor – coordinates if a GPS I connected to the system 2D _0001.em - EM data (if using antennas with EM option) During a 3D Project the following data file is created: 3D_0001.rhd - a file directory containing all files measured (in two...
  • Page 29 The previously measured files can be viewed within the CX by pressing Work with Files in the main menu. Under this menu, the operator can choose to view files, delete them or upload those (See Section Transferring Data).

  • Page 30: Transferring Data

    8.1 Transferring data By connecting a flashcard (USB storage media) to the USB port at the top left corner of the CX the measured data can be easily transferred by pressing in the File dialog (See the section File Manager). All marked files and grid projects will then be copied to the storage medium, which can then be connected to any desired computer.

  • Page 31: System Settings

    9 System settings __________________________________________________ The System menu of the CX unit can be reached after choosing Quit on the main menu, as if to shut down the unit. It is reached by turning the turn-push button 3 clicks right, 3 clicks left and 3 clicks right at the following screen.
  • Page 32 Software upgrade. See Chapter 10. Restoration of predefined settings. See Below. Restoration factory Settings. See below. Note! By pressing the next System settings screen is reached. By activating the kill-switch (mandatory under certain conditions, due to FCC regulations, see FCC Part 15.509 stating that when working with the high frequency antenna as a hand held and wall-scanning device, it is not allowed to de-activate the kill-switch function, but when used as a normal GPR, (floor scanning, shallow utility detection etc.) it’s allowed to de-...
  • Page 33 Note that it’s advisable to continue with the next line within 10 seconds to avoid any time drifts of the signal. The CX system will work in the following manner: By default the Kill-switch is always OFF and transmitting is always enabled.
  • Page 34 Here it is possible to change the parameters for the two different CX filters, the FIR filter and the Time Gain filter. If one of the buttons are pressed then the Trace/Radagram View will show how the choice of filter parameters affects the trace otherwise the Trace/Radagram View will show the trace/radargram only with DC removal filter.
  • Page 35 Battery level is set to 11 V Meters are chosen as the measurement units By pressing Restore Factory Settings the system file in the CX is restored from the system file default image. This is useful if the system file in the unit has been damaged in some way.

  • Page 36: Upgrade

    3 turns clockwise again. A more detailed description on this can be found in the section on system settings. 5. Insert the USB memory device in the USB slot of the CX. 6. Select the option “Software upgrade” in the system menu. The upgrade starts and can take up to several minutes.

  • Page 37: Batteries And Power Supply

    Note! Before use, open the battery pack and connect the battery to the outside connectors. See figure below. The Li-Ion battery pack is the standard power supply for the CX main unit. The capacity of the battery is 12V/13.2 Ah. This gives an operation time of approx.

  • Page 38: High Frequency Antennas

    12 High Frequency antennas ___________________________________________________________ MALÅ High Frequency (HF) antennas are available with frequencies of 1.2, 1.6 and 2.3 GHz. The 1.2 and 1.6 GHz antennas also have an EM (Electromagnetic) option, giving a GPR antenna with a 50/60 Hz EM- locator.
  • Page 39 Mounting the HF antenna in the HF cart. The antenna is attached to the cart on two sides, see the arrows. The HF antennas are attached to the CX main unit through a 4 m long cable, allowing a flexible and mobile data collection. A 10 m extension cable is also available.
  • Page 40 The single wheel encoder (top) and attached to a HF antenna (below) in two different directions. When the HF antennas are used with the CX control unit, the data collection can also be controlled by the two buttons on the handle of the antenna (Fig.
  • Page 41 Figure 12.6 Extension pole. On the handgrip the two buttons are seen, the one on the top (red) starts a new profile. When using the extension pole, as seen in Fig. 12.6 above, the two buttons are located on the hand grip, with one button underneath the grip starting and stopping the data collection, and the other one (red) on the handle top starting a new profile.
  • Page 42 CMP (Common Mid Point). The data cables from the two antennas are connected to the switch box and the switch box to the CX Main unit. Figure 12.8. Switch box for two High Frequency antennas.

  • Page 43: Technical Specifications Cx Unit

    Technical Specifications CX unit __________________________________________________ Pulse repetition frequency 100 kHz Data bits Time stability Better or equal than 60 ps Sampling frequency 6-700 GHz Acquisition mode Distance/time/manual, Grid measurements are controlled by remote controls on antenna/handle, with audio response Time Window...

  • Page 44: Technical Specifications Hf Antennas

    Operating time 3 hours (with 12V battery) Operating temperature -20 to + 50 Control Unit CX Main unit, ProEx or CUII control units Data acquisition CX Main unit or XV Monitor (both preferred) or other laptop (with MALÅ Ground Vision software)
  • Page 45 www.malags.com Corporate Headquarters Offices MALÅ Geoscience USA: MALÅ Geoscience USA, Inc., 2040 Savage Rd. Box 80430, Charleston, SC 29416 Skolgatan 11, SE-930 70 Phone: +1 843 852 5021, Fax: +1 843 769 7392, E-mail: sales.usa@malags.com Malå, Sweden Phone: +46 953 345 50 China: MALÅ...

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